Attachment for sewing machines



y 9, 1961 I. BRAGER 2,983,238

ATTACHMENT FOR SEWING MACHINES Filed Nov. 6, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 W" "Hl 4 a l| I Z0 fl 2/ i Q I 1 6/ a} Z? ill I 1 4 p Mix. a 5/ 4/ 519 as T"I 42 .36 49 53 INVENTOR.

fierze Brazie y 9, 1961 l. BRAGER 2,983,238

ATTACHMENT FOR SEWING MACHINES Filed Nov. 6, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVEN TOR. frezza 23/4114 4 BY @L MW r-M AM m Patented May 9, 1961ATTACHMENT FOR SEWING MACHINES Irene Brar'rer, M. Gladbach, Germany,assignor to Fremaco International, Inc., Chicago, 111., a corporation ofIllinois Filed Nov. 6, 1956, Ser. No. 620,604 Claims priority,application Germany Dec. 19, 1955 Claims. (Cl. 112-77) This inventionrelates as indicated to an attachment for sewing machines, and moreparticularly to attachments for making decorative stitches orbuttonholes.

In the past, if it were desired to'produce decorative stitches orbuttonholes, by means of attachments attached to the fabric presser footpost of asimple sewing machine, the layer of stitches had to beadditionally positioned sidewards. In the case of buttonholes, thepositioning was done by leaving the needle with its top in the fabricafter having sewn the first buttonhole hem, lifting the fabric presserpost together with the attachment (attached to the fabric presser post)and turning the fabric by 180 around the top of the needle in thefabric, getting the needle out of the fabric, and then positioning thefabric sidewards. After putting down the fabric presser post, then,beside the first buttonhole hem the next one could be made. In otherwords, the positioning of the stitch field was made by moving a suitablemechanism guided by hand, after having sewn a certain number of zig-Zagstitches, which shifts the sewing foot with the fabric underneath itsidewards in sewing direction. The thus newly created stitch is againsewn upon with a number of zig-zag stitches, whereupon the process ofshifting the sewing foot, as mentioned above, is repeated. Here also thepositioning of the stitch field is controlled by hand. The thus produceddecorative seams, although produced by tedious and long work, were notexact and even, since the necessary counting of the individual stitchesdemanded unusual attention. Naturally, the positioning of the stitchfield might be effected by hand during the sewing process, but it Waspractically impossible, even with trained operators with the greatestattention to produce continuously clean, and even, decorative seams. i

It is, therefore, an object of the invention to provide an attachmentfor sewing machines for producing zigzag stitches.

It is a further object of the invention to provide anattachment whicheffects automatically the positioning of the stitch field, so thatwithout any special knowledge or training, decorative stitches can beachieved easily and conveniently, no matter how long, and with precisesymmetry- I It is a still further object of the invention to provide anattachment that is conveniently and inexpensively manufactured.

7 Further objects and advantages of this invention will become evidentas the description proceeds and from an examination of the accompanyingdrawing, which illustrates one embodiment-of the invention and in whichsimilar numerals refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

In the drawings:

Figure lis a view in elevation of the device embodyingvthe invention. 7i I V Figure 2is a plan view of the device shown in Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a view'in section taken along lines 3-- 3 of Figure 2. l i

Figure 4 is a view in section taken substantially along line 4-4 ofFigure 2 with the fork lever broken away.

Figure 5 is an exploded view of the device shown in Figure 1.

Referring now to the drawings, reference numeral 10 indicates generallythe attachment embodying the invention for making decorative stitches orfor sewing buttonholes.

A supporting member 11 is adapted to be securely fastened to the presserfoot post of a sewing machine. Journalled in' the supporting member is ashaft 12. Mounted on the shaft 12 on opposite sides of the supportingmember 11 are a pair of plates 14, 15, having on the inner face thereofcams 16, 17. The shaft and the cams are advanced step by step byastepping mechanism. The stepping mechanism includes a fork lever 20adapted to be reciprocated by the moving needle post on the sewingmachine in a well known manner. shaft is advanced by a pawl mounted onthe fork lever that engages a ratchet 22 mounted on shaft 12.

The presser foot 30 swings back and forth to move the material under theneedle in a predetermined man- The presser foot is. suspended on an arm31. At-

ner. the rearward portion of the arm 31 is mounted a cam follower 32which is swung back and forth by the rises and dwells on cams 16, 17. Inthe presser foot arm 31, between the cam follower 32 and the presserfoot 30, is an elongated slot 33.

A slider bar 36 has an upwardly bent end 37 that projects through theslot 33 and serves as a pivot for the presser foot arm 31. Thus, as thecam follower 32 is swung back and forth by cams 16, 17, the presser footarm 31 swings about pivot 37 on the slider bar 36. The slider bar has ahandle portion 38 so that it may be manually adjusted to position thepivot 37 at a selected location. In this way the amount of swingingmotion of the presser foot 30 may be adjusted or varied; An elongatedslot 39 is formed in slider bar 36.

Depending from supporting member 11 through slot 33 of presser foot arm31, and slot 39 of slider bar 36, is post 40. A supporting plate ismounted on the bottom of the post for holding a slider bar and presserfoot arm in position. The plate 41 is retained on the post 40 by a pin42.

Cam 5 0 is mounted on shaft 12 opposite the fork lever 20. A Cam 50 haslaterally displaced marginal edge portions 51. A cam follower member 53has a forked portion 54 for actuation by cam 50. The cam follower member53 is pivoted about the pin 55 mounted in the supporting member 11. 'Aslot 56, formed in the cam follower member 53, receives the upper end ofpivot 37 of slider bar 36. As cam 50 is rotated, the cam follower 53 islaterally displaced by the contour on the marginal edges of cam 50. Asthe cam follower is displaced, it

also displaces thepivot 37 of slider bar 36. Thus, the

presser foot arm31 as it swings about pivot 37 is displaced sidewaysduring the sewing operation, according to design of cam 50.

. Cam 50 is removably mounted on shaft 12 by a manually operable thumbscrew in the form of a screw with a knurled head 59. A number of camssimilar to 50 may be supplied with thesewing attachment, and substitutedbythe operator by merely removing the thumb screw and placing 'on theshaft 12 the proper cam for the de- The.

- 3 vancement ofthe cams 16, 17, swingsthe presser foot arm 31 throughactuation of the cam follower 32 and shifting the fabric beneath thepresser foot 36 diagonally to the sewing direction in a manner such thatzig-Zag stitchesare achieved. The swinging of the presser foot arm 31 isabout'pivot 37 of' slider bar 36. The contour formed on cam 50 displaceslaterally the pivot 37, also diagonally to the sewing direction of themachine.

presser foot arm 31 and with it the fabric beneath the presser foot 30is additionally pushed diagonally to the sewing direction of themachine. With this, the automatic sideways adjustment stitch positionsof the normal zig-z a'g stitch during a sewing operation are achieved.Depending upon the construction of cam 5%, which may bemanuallyexchanged without difficulty, decorative stitches can be obtained byinexperienced operators.

By action of the sideways displacement of'the pivot 37, the

, Inthe drawing and specification there has been set forth a preferredembodiment of the invention, and although'specific terms are employed,these are used in fastened to the presser foot post of a sewing machineand dn'ven by the needle bar comprising asupporting member, anadjustable pivot member, a presser foot supported for movements aboutsaid pivot member, a rotatable shaft, means adapted to be associatedwith a needle post for advancing said shaft, first cam means mounted onand rotated by said shaft for moving said presser foot aboutsaid pivotmember to produce z ig-zag stitches, second replaceable cam meansremovably mounted on one end of said shaft for transversely shiftingsaid pivot member, anda manually operable thumb screw member forremovably securing said second replaceable cam to said shaft, wherebythe stitching patternmay be varied by manually substituting difierentcams for said second replaceable cam. I

2. An'attachment for sewing machines adapted to be fastened to thepresser foot post of a sewing machine and driven by the needle barcomprising asupporting men-- ber, a pivot member, a presser footsupported for moveshaft; first cam means rotated by said shaft formoving ments aboutsaid pivot member, ashaft, means adapted to beassociated with a needle post for advancing said said presser foot aboutsaid pivot member, second re- 11 .placeable cam means removably mountedon oneend of manually substituting different cams for said second re- 1"placeahle cam.

member adapted to .be fastened tothe'presser foot'of a engaging saidpivot member for transversely shifting said pivot member upon rotationof said second cam means, and a manually operable thumb screw member forremovably securing said second replaceable cam to said shaft, wherebythe stitching pattern may be varied by manually substituting differentcams for said second replaceable cam.

4. An attachment for sewing machines adapted to be fastened to thepresser foot post of a sewing machine and driven by the needle bar,comprising a support member adapted to be fastened to the presser footpost of a sewing machine, a pivot member, arm means pivotally supportedintermediate its ends on said pivot member,

a presser foot mounted on said arm means, a shaft, means adapted to beassociated with a needle post for rotating said shaft, first cam meanssecured to said shaft for rotation therewith, first follower meansmounted on said arm means in operative "association with'said -first bythe stitching pattern maybe varied by 'manually suba stituting differentcams for said second replaceable cam. '5.' An attachment for sewingmachines adapted to be fastened to the presser foot post of a sewingmachine and driven by the needle bar, comprising a supporting memberadapted to be fastened to the presser foot post of a sewing machine, apivot member, arm means pivotally supported intermediate its ends onsaid pivot membcr for oscillatory movement thereon, a. presser footsupported on said arm means, a shaft, means adapted to be associatedwith a needle post for rotating said shaft, first cam means secured tosaid shaft for rotation therewith,

first follower meaus mounted on'said arm means in operative associationwith said first cam means, said first follower means oscillating saidarm means about 'saidpivot member upon rotation of said -shaft,;secondreplaceable cam means removably mounted on one end said second followermeans engaging said pivot member for transversely shifting said pivotmember upon rotation of said second cam means, and means forlongitudinally moving ,said'pivot member with respect to the ends ofsaid arm means, and a manually operablethumb screw 7 3.]A1'1 attachmentfor sewing machines adapted to'bef 1 fastened to the presser foot postof a sewing machine 'and driven by the needle'bar, comprising asupporting sewing machine, apivot member, a-presser foot supported-foifoscillatory movement about said -pivot member, ;a shaft, means adaptedto be associated with a needle post for rotating said shaft,'first cammeans :securedtoi said shaft; for rotationtherewith, first followermeans secured' to said presser foot in operative association with saidfirst cam means, saidtirst follower imeansfoscillat- 'ing saidpresserfoot about said pivot ,upon-rotation of said 'first cam means,secondreplaceable cam'means re- A: movably'mounted on one end ofsaid-shaftfor'rotation therewith, second followerfmeans op e iativelyassociated 327,l69 374,479 Johnson Dec..6,'18-87 389,573 JohnsonSeptIlS, 1888 440,179 Morris Nov. 11,1 1,958,207 Scheibel'et al. ;May8,1934 2,207,293 ,Hin'man i July 9, 1940 2,374,721 Bacon et a1. 1945'2,405,253 Y 1946 2,762,515 7 V I p 1955 r 2,770,206 Baehr et a1. 4. Nov.13, 1956 .member for removablysecu'ring said second replaceable 7 secondreplaceable cam.

References Cited inthe file of this patent Q UNITED srA'rEs PATENTS 7Huntington Sept.' 2;9., 1885

